Radio ad revenue up 6% in January

New York—Following a flat finish in 2005, national radio ad sales rose 6% in January, compared with the same period last year, according to a report released Wednesday by the Radio Advertising Bureau.

However, local radio revenue fell 1% in the same period. Local and national ad dollars together grew just 1% in January.

The biggest gain came in nonspot revenue, which was up 10% in January compared with the year-earlier period.

To put the numbers in perspective, the RAB introduced an Ad Sales Index that uses a base year reading of 100 for 1998. The index works similarly to the Consumer Price Index so that information can be monitored on a monthly basis. The RAB sales indexes for January 2006 are: local, 141.8; national, 170.9; and total combined local and national, 146.7